Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-three ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $35.3810.

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on HAL. Barclays raised their price objective on Halliburton from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $39.00 price target on shares of Halliburton in a report on Friday, February 6th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Halliburton from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Halliburton from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn upped their price objective on shares of Halliburton from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th.

Halliburton Trading Down 0.1%

Halliburton stock opened at $34.11 on Tuesday. Halliburton has a one year low of $18.72 and a one year high of $37.03. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $33.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $28.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 2.04 and a quick ratio of 1.51. The company has a market capitalization of $28.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.59, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.73.

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 21st. The oilfield services company reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $5.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.39 billion. Halliburton had a return on equity of 19.77% and a net margin of 5.78%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.73 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Halliburton will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Halliburton Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th will be given a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 4th. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. Halliburton’s payout ratio is currently 45.03%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Van H. Beckwith sold 54,348 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.96, for a total value of $1,900,006.08. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 344,535 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,044,943.60. This trade represents a 13.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Margaret Katherine Banks sold 2,600 shares of Halliburton stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.17, for a total value of $88,842.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 14,043 shares in the company, valued at $479,849.31. The trade was a 15.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 328,148 shares of company stock valued at $11,199,000 over the last three months. 0.56% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Halliburton during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Halliburton in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors bought a new position in Halliburton during the third quarter worth $25,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new position in Halliburton during the second quarter worth $25,000. Finally, Zions Bancorporation National Association UT raised its stake in Halliburton by 196.4% during the 4th quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT now owns 981 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 650 shares during the last quarter. 85.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Halliburton Company Profile

Halliburton is one of the world’s largest providers of products and services to the energy industry, offering a broad portfolio that supports the lifecycle of oil and gas reservoirs from exploration and drilling through production and abandonment. Founded in 1919 by Erle P. Halliburton as an oil-well cementing company, the firm is headquartered in Houston, Texas and has developed into an integrated oilfield services company serving upstream operators globally.

The company’s activities encompass drilling and evaluation, well construction and completion, production enhancement and well intervention.